


Beasts

by frostmrajick



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2662058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostmrajick/pseuds/frostmrajick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young man cursed in the form of a Beast must win the love of a Beauty before his time runs out, and his curse becomes permanent.<br/>Only, his beauty is far from what he could ever have expected.<br/>Yeah, he's doomed.<br/>A retelling of Beauty and the Beast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beasts

Once upon a time, there was a young prince. This young man lived in a glorious castle, with servants who attended to his every need. His parents gave him his every indulgence, and instructed his servants to do so, as well. There were a handful who tried to refuse, but he would put up a fuss, and they would relent for fear of losing their jobs. The few who tried to instill some sense of decorum in him were immediately fired, and the prince would smugly watch them pack, content in his reign.

Obviously, the prince was not popular among his people or his household. Sometimes, he would feel a lonely ache inside him, knowing that most people would not be by his side by choice. But then he would give a peasant child a coin or order a servant to play with him, and for a time, he could pretend he had real friends.

Indeed, there were a handful of people who learned to deal with him. An older maid, who was the only one who could make the child listen, mostly because she had been the king’s maid, as well, and old habits of listening die hard. A young commoner boy who was content to let the prince lead, and happy to provide company, for though several years younger, he saw the sad longing in the prince’s eyes. And a handful of others, who had learned to tolerate the spoiled boy long enough to become the closest he had to friends.

Who knows how things might have turned out if they had continued as they had? Perhaps these few friends would have been enough to change the young prince’s ways. Perhaps his parents would have finally had enough and disciplined him into humility. But perhaps he would have only become a selfish and spoiled prince, doomed to rule his kingdom with an iron fist until he doomed himself or his kingdom.

Certainly, by his twenty-first birthday, he had shown no sign of changing his ways. His parents threw him a lavish party, certain that their heir deserved all and more. They invited everyone in the land, though not out of any kindness, but to be certain their child would have gifts, an audience, and company. All came, out of hopes they would perhaps get a decent meal and out of fear of the consequences of disobedience.

Everyone danced and ate and talked, and they could almost believe they were having a good time. Until the time came when the king called his son for his coronation. That was when the reason for the party hit them, and they thought in dread of the years of rule that were to come.

But then, an old beggar woman approached the throne. She was hunched and walked with a stick, and wore a ratted old robe that could not have kept her warm even in the most mild of weather.

Please, young highness, she begged, her voice little more than a raspy croak, may I humbly ask for a few gold pieces from your majesty, to feed and house an old woman?

The almost-king was outraged. How dare you, he said in offense, come to me on my birthday and coronation to beg from me? What do you have to offer me?

As your humble subject, hungry and cold, I dare, she replied, and those closest to her sensed a steeliness enter her voice that sent a shiver of dread down their backs, though they could not yet say why. As for my offering, I give you all I have—a rose from the patch I tend in my home in the woods. She produced from the folds of her robe a long-stemmed rose, such a deep blood red it was almost black, plucked and thus forever bordering the very edge of blooming. The audience sighed in awe at its unearthly beauty, but the young king-to-be was not moved.

Bah! He declared. I am a king! What use do I have for roses? Be gone from my sight, you wretched hag! The very sight of you is spoiling my party. He swatted the rose from her hand, causing her to fall to the ground with a cry that only made him laugh cruelly.

Just as he was turning away to order the guards to take her to the dungeon, her skin began to ripple, and then it burst and melted, revealing a beautiful young woman, the sight of her loveliness causing his very eyes, where the old hag had crouched mere moments before. As she turned to him, wings that seemed spun of pure light spread from her back, and everyone’s eyes were forced to turn from the glow.

The young man realized his mistake at this moment, for this was no ordinary woman, but a fairy.

He fell to his hands and knees, eyes lowered deferentially. My queen, he said softly, how poorly I have treated you. I can only humbly beg of your forgiveness. Please, take whatever you desire in my repatriation.

The fairy laughed, but it was such a cold laugh as to reach his very bones. Yes, now you offer me all you have, now that you see my beauty and greatness. But to an old woman, one who would truly need such generosity, you had not even a moment’s time or kind word. She shook her head. In twenty-one years, you have learned little of what it means to be a king, and so you will not become one on this day, but shall remain forever on the border. In addition, she waved a hand, you shall take on a form more suited to your interior. After all, you seem to think that those beneath you need nothing, and so you shall need nothing, as well.

He felt a shift upon his form and cried out as a sudden pain ripped through him, tearing him apart. He wasn’t sure how long it lasted, perhaps only a moment, but that moment was as though a thousand hells were visited upon him at once.

Finally, the fairy said, as he breathed heavily through the remnants of the pain, since you care so little for others, no others shall be with you in this time. With another wave of her hand, the entire household, servants, commoners, family, and all, disappeared, and he felt that lonely ache inside him, more intense than he’d ever felt before, so that he let out a cry of utmost heartfelt pain, one that made his previous exclamation seem a song. It was unfamiliar even to his own ears, the sound of an animal on its very deathbed.

At the sound, the fairy’s formerly stony and impassive face softened. Ah, but you are yet a child, and cannot be entirely blamed for your faults, she said in a voice more soft and tender than she had used yet. She reached into her gown and pulled out a small, handheld mirror. I give you this gift. This mirror will allow you to see those few you were truly able to care something about. However, since you were so consumed with appearances, that is all they will be to you.

She knelt down and picked up the rose he had swatted from her hand and placed it gently in his own. And this, this I already gave to you, and now I give it again, she said. It will bloom for a time, and in that time, if you can learn to love another, and you can earn his or her love in return, everything shall return to normal, and you shall become the king you were meant to be. However, if the last petal falls and you are not successful, this curse shall be yours to bear for eternity.

With these words, she released his hands and faded away.

And the first petal fell.


End file.
